


'cause baby it's bad blood

by driedupwishes



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, MMA AU, Past Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart, sorta denial of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-31 20:04:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3991003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/driedupwishes/pseuds/driedupwishes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikasa hit the bag once more, a punch that sent it swinging farther than the rest, and stepped back quickly out of the range of its return arch. Her hands stung faintly through the gloves, which she started to peel off as Eren drew to a halt only a few feet away.</p><p>“You’re really doing this,” Eren asked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	'cause baby it's bad blood

Mikasa reflected that maybe she would have to start being less predictable about her hiding spots when her brother found her the night before the match, his face contorted with a mixture of stubbornness and frustration. She considered herself lucky that she’d chosen to face the door in the gym instead of away, since it gave her a few seconds of warning as she spotted him around the swing of the punching bag, marching across the room like he was coming for a fight.

He wasn’t coming for a fight, though she wished he was. Knocking his ass around the ring was an infinitely better activity than having the kind of conversation it looked like he wanted to have. Taking a few punches to the face was so much more inviting than a heart to heart with Eren.

Not that she would be the one getting punched in the face. Eren, even after all this time and training, still had nothing on her speed. They didn’t spar often, but when they did he always walked away with a bloody nose and at least one black eye, even when she went easy on him. Of course she hadn’t trained with him in a while, not since he’d started on with Levi, so that might have changed. There was certainly something in his walk lately that made it seem like a fight between them might be a little more fair than it once was.

Mikasa hit the bag once more, a punch that sent it swinging farther than the rest, and stepped back quickly out of the range of its return arch. Her hands stung faintly through the gloves, which she started to peel off as Eren drew to a halt only a few feet away.

“You’re really doing this,” Eren asked. It was an accusation, really, like half of his questions always were. Mikasa loved her brother, but god if he wasn’t a pain in the ass.

“Why shouldn’t I,” she shot back, voice steady, calm. She flung the boxing gloves at his face once they were off, watching with a curl of amusement as he flinched back from the gloves, his face twisting in surprise and disgust as one glove bounced off his nose and fell to the ground in front of him.

“Mikasa, I’m being serious,” he growled. She rolled her eyes, reaching up to untie her hair from the ponytail she had put in it before she’d started wailing on the punching bag.

“I know you are, Eren,” she sighed. She glanced away, trying to find something else to focus on, because Eren’s face made her feel trapped, the same way her apartment had earlier that evening. The silence hadn’t been suffocating when she had been able to fill it with the sound of her gloves against the bag, but now it curled around her throat and ate away at her, pulling her back to the thoughts she had been trying to escape. It wasn’t Eren’s fault, she reminded herself, but her stubborn brother’s scowl certainly wasn’t helping.

As is sensing the turn of her thoughts Eren took a step closer, towering over her. She tripped her head up to look at him, rolling her shoulders slightly as she did so. He looked torn, jaw clenching as he worked his way through the order of words to find a sentence that fit. He’d never had Armin’s quick speech, but neither had she; they were both used to waiting on the other to get their thoughts in order before they spoke.

“You’re fighting Annie tomorrow,” he said finally, deflating a bit as the words rang through the room. She bit her lip a little in surprise, since Eren usually went more toward the ‘headbutt and then yell’ route of confrontation over these kinds of things. But, she reflected, once again this change was probably Levi’s doing. Eren shifted his weight, still agitated but quieter about it, his voice softer when he spoke. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay with that?”

Her fight with Annie was the only thing anyone had wanted to talk to her about all week. Mikasa was sick of hearing about it, but at the same time the mix of excitement and nerves that had been flooding her since the match’s announcement several weeks ago bubbled in her gut at the mention. She shifted at the mention of it, turning to head over to the bench, where her bag was sitting. She started to unwind the tape on her wrists and knuckles as she went, just for something to do with her hands. The sound of Eren’s footsteps as he followed her was almost instantaneous.

“Mikasa-“

“I’m fine,” she sighed. “I’m looking forward to it, if you’ve got to know.”

“If you’re looking forward to it why are in you in the gym at 11 o’clock at night running away from me when I mention it?”

“I’m not _running away_ ,” Mikasa snapped, turning around to glare at him. “I’m getting the tape off my hands and getting a towel.”

Eren snorted, crossing his arms over his chest to show he wasn’t convinced. She gritted her teeth, half tempted to swing at him, match tomorrow or not. Nosey pain in her _ass_ …

“Shut up and go get my gloves,” she told him. He stared, unmoving, and she sighed, something within her snapping. “I’m not scared of Annie, Eren!”

Her words rang through the empty gym and she wished she could take them back the second they were out. It was true, she wasn’t scared of Annie and Eren knew it too. She could tell by the shift in his expression, the way his eyes softened and his mouth dropped at the corner until he was frowning with concern. He looked soft like that, warm and inviting, the way he didn’t when he fought. She turned away before he could say something, busying herself with the tape on her hands, and he sighed, soft and slow, before the sound of his footsteps walking away echoed in the quiet room.

“Sorry,” Eren muttered, when he came back with the gloves in hand. “I shouldn’t push, I know, it’s just- I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t be worried,” Mikasa told him, like it was simple. He rolled his eyes at her answer, tossing her gloves on the bench with the kind of ease that hid the tension in his expression when she glanced at him. “I mean it, Eren; don’t worry about me.”

“Can’t not worry,” he muttered, grinning at her crookedly. She rolled her eyes and snatched the towel from on top of her bag, wiping off her face and arms with it as she did so. She’d been at the bag long enough to work up a sweat, but not long enough that the burn in her limbs would linger too much longer. It was probably for the best, since she didn’t want to overdo it before the match.

“So,” Eren said, when she was done wiping the sweat off and could no longer stall without it becoming glaringly obvious. “You’re really going to fight her?”

Armin had texted her that exact same question, word for word, on Wednesday. Usually she would’ve been amused by the boys unintentional mirroring, but she was suddenly so sick of the elephant in the room no one wanted to address that she could only grit her teeth in frustration. If they were all so _fucking curious_ about it then she might as well _tell them_ , she thought angrily.

“Yes, Eren,” she said evenly, picking her jaw up to look him in the eye. “I’m going to fight Annie, my high school sweetheart.”

Eren seemed to realize he’d crossed a line somewhere and winced. “Sorry,” he muttered, rather insincerely. “I just don’t know if it’s a good idea to try and fight someone you care about like that, y’know?”

 _Oh_ , Mikasa thought, narrowing her eyes up at her brother. _So you want to go there, huh?_

“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you,” she drawled quietly. Eren finally had the decency to look embarrassed, flushing red all the way to his ears as he sputtered, looking for a way to deny what she was implying.

“What- I- It’s not- _Mikasa, I’m serious_ ,” he squeaked. For a second he was too adorable to be annoyed at, flushed at the insinuation that she’d known about his thing with Levi the whole time. The idiot had thought he’d been keeping it a secret, but hickeys and fighting bruises left two very different patterns, both of which Mikasa knew well.

“I seriously can’t believe you thought I bought your ‘ran into a chair’ story last week,” she told him, sidestepping the redirection in conversation easily. Eren flushed even darker, eyes nearly popping out of his skull as his mouth fell uselessly open. His hand flew, almost defensively, to cover the spot on his hip where the hickey had been, fingers clenching into the material of his shirt nervously. She laughed at him quietly, smirking as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Eren said eventually, when he could talk without his voice arching up into a squeak. It took him a few minutes, which Mikasa savored shamelessly. “I’m not- we’re not doing this tonight, okay. I’m not ready to-“

“You’re not ready to talk about this,” she interrupted, enjoying the split second of shock on Eren’s face as it occurred to him where she was about to take this conversation. He looked immediately sheepish when she added, “sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”

Eren didn’t quite pout, but it was close. His arms dropped to his sides, hanging there awkwardly as he shifted back and forth on the balls of his feet. “ _Fine_ ,” he mumbled, looking at anything but her. “I get it, I get it; I’ll back the fuck off. Christ, I just wanted you to know that I’m here if you need me, okay?”

Her brother was a complete idiot, she thought fondly. Stomping in, an hour to midnight, to confront her about her match against the once-upon-a-time love of her life when he could be at home, in bed, with the love of _his_ life. But she wouldn’t change him, even if she had been given the chance.

(Probably.)

“Of course you’re here if I need you,” she said, rolling her eyes. She reached out, curling her fingers in the front of his shirt to haul him into a hug. He groaned, wrinkling his nose and making a fuss about disgusting sweaty disgusting sister hugs, but his arms wrapped around her shoulders without a pause and his head dropped carefully against hers until she could feel his breath against her scalp. Eren squeezed her carefully before letting go, stepping back to shove his hands in his pockets, eyes scanning her face carefully before he nodded to himself.

“Wanna get shitty diner food,” he asked, casual and easy. Mikasa marveled at his ability to go from nosey little shit to patient dorky goofball, especially since he’d been purposefully poking at the landmine that was the fact that she was going to fight her ex-girlfriend tomorrow.

“Sure,” she said, just as easily. Whatever tomorrow brought, whether it was a happy reunion with her old love or a nasty knock out battle with her heart, it could wait a few hours.

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be like straight up mikasa and annie kicking each other's asses, but i'm incapable of writing that rn. but my friend requested mikaani bad blood mma au and this is what he got. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


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